Thickening-thread mechanism for knitting-machines



(No Model.)

- 4 3 Sheers Sheet 1. EL. LANG & I. H. DANIELE. THICKENING THREADMECHANISM FOR KNITTING MACHINES. No. 527,019.

Patented Oct. 2,1894.

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, 3 Sheets-Sheet 3. E. L. LANG & F. H. DANIELL. THICKENING THREADMEGHANISM FOR KNITTING MACHINES. No. 527,019.

(No Model.).

Patented Oct 2 1894.

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' UNITED STATES PATENT OFFI ELMER L. LANG AND FREDERICK H. DANIELL, OFFRANKLIN FALLS, AS-

SIGN OBS TO SULLOWAY MILLS, OF FRANKLIN, NEW HAMPSHIRE.

THlCKEIfllNG-THREAD MECHANISM FOR KNITTING-MACHINES.

SPZELI'FICA'JPION forming part of Letters Patent No. 527,019, datedOctober 2, 18.94.

Application filed February 6 1893- Serial No. 461,232. (N0 model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that we, ELMER L. LANG and FREDERICK H. DANIELL, of FranklinFalls, county of Merrimac, State of New Hampshire, have invented anImprovement in Thickening-Thread Mechanism for Knitting-Machines, ofwhich the following description, in connection with the accompanyingdrawings, is a specification, like letters and figures on the drawingsrepresenting like parts.

It is a great desideratum in certain classes of knitted goods toreinforce the same at weak places or points subject to considerablewear, with an extra thread, and considerable attention has been given tothe production of mechanism whereby a thickening thread may be insertedat stated points.

Inthis our invention, we have provided novel mechanical devices wherebya thickening thread may bethrown in at any desired point, and it may berun upon any desired number of needles in the cylinder, equal to or lessthan one-half; the introduction of the thickening thread beingcontrolled by a pat tern device. Herein the main thread is fedcontinuously to the latched needles of the rotary-cylinder and dialplate through a stationary tube-like thread guide, said thread guidealso serving to carry the thickening thread to the needles, the mainthread acting I .frictionally against the thickening thread to cause itto travel with it to the needles, except when the thickening thread isheld by the clamping device, to be described.

The clamping device consists of a lever having its fulcrum on a standerected on the stationary head plate of the machine,it comin g down uponthe thickening thread suitably supported on a stationary surface,preferably the upper end of the post supporting the tub ular threadguide, and holding said splicing thread so that the needles, in the Eurther rotation of the needle cylinder, breakthe thread;

The clamping device is so located with relation to the needles and thethread guide referred to, thatia considerable amount of the thickeningthread at and near its free end is always retained within the saidthread guide ready to be taken up unerringly and carried into themachine by the main thread 6o cular knitting machine of the rib variety,it

havingcylinder and dial needles mounted to reciprocate in a rotatingneedle-bed and dial plate, said machine being one especially devised forthe manufacture of rib tops or cuffs for shirts, drawcrs,s tockings,(kc.

Figure 1, in perspective shows a sufficient portion of a knittingmachine embodying our improvements. Fig. 2, is an enlarged detail to bedescribed. Fig. 3, is an enlarged detail at the left of Fig. 1. Fig. 3,is a detail to be described showing the thread guide from the right of'Fig.2,but with the thread nipper open. Fig. 4, is a partial sectionbelow the line 00, Figs. 1 and 3. Fig. 5, is a section in the linex,,Fig. 4.

Referring to the-drawings, A represents the frame-work of the knittingmachine, said frame-work being,in practice, mounted upon suitable legs Abut partially shown, the frame-work being terminated at its top by ahead-plate A supporting a stationary cam cylinder A within which ismounted a rotating needlecylinder A suitably grooved for the receptionof the cylinder needles, partially shownin Fig. 1, said needle cylinderbeing provided at its under side in usual manner with a bevel toothedring A engaged by a beveled pinion A on a suitable shaft A which inpractice may be driven by any usual pulley system, or rotated by hand,as commonly practiced in knitting machines.

The needle cylinder has co-operating with it a dial needle plate Agrooved at its upper side in usual manner for the reception of dialneedles, which, in practice, will be actuated by the cams at the underside of a' dial campl'ate A the dial cam-plate being held in position bya suitable spindle extended through the arm A".

Suspended from. and rotating. in unison with the rotating needlecylinder, is a take-upi stud c of a lever c pivoted at 0 said leverhaving pivoted to it at its outer end a link 0 attached to an arm 0having its fulcrum on a stud 0 supported in one of the side frames ofthe machine.

The lever c has mounted upon it near its outer end, and near the link 0a pawl 0 see Fig. 1, said pawl being acted upon by aspring 0 to normallykeep said pawl pressedto ward and so as to engageratchetteeth of thepattern wheel 0 mounted loosely upon the stud c referred to.

The pattern wheel has upouits'outer face a series of removable studswhich, during the reciprocation of the pawl c ,are acted upon bytheteeth of an auxiliary ratchet wheel (1, the said ratchet wheel beingrotated in the direction of the arrow thereontFig. 3, by contact withthe said studs duringth'e downward movement of the pawl 0 the saidratchet wheel being prevented from rotating in the reverse directionduringthe upward movement of the pawl, by means. ofan auxiliary pawldcarried by the main pawl 0 This auxiliary ratchet wheel and auxiliarypawl determine the time at which the main pawl may engage a tooth ofandrotate the pattern wheel. As, forinstance, the auxiliary ratchetwheel has one deep notchd ,which,

once during each rotation of the -ratchet wheel meets one of the pins 0ofthe pattern wheel a", then, and only then, the'acting end of the mainpawl 0 can engage the ratchet teeth of the pattern wheel, and intheupward movement of the pawl rotate the pattern wheel one step.

If the pins 0 should be omitted, then the end of the pawl a would act ateach upward thrust to move the pattern wheel-one step. By arranging thepins 10 in the holes 3 at proper intervals any desired intermitting orstep by step motion of the pattern wheel a may be provided for.

The main pattern wheel has at its inner side several cam projectionsorlumps e, herein shown, see Fig. 3, by dotted lines, and four innumber, said lumps acting one after another on a projection h of a pawl77. pivoted at 71 and having at its end a hook h the lumps lifting thepawl and causing the hook h to engage, one after another, one oftheprojections of what we call a star-wheele fast on the outer end of ashort cam shaft 6 having its bearing in a stand 6 see Figs. 1 and 5,fast on the cage B,said cam shaft having at its inner end an eccentric ewhich acts bet-ween the arms of a bifurcated ear e of a cam ring 6?represented as having two depending lugs e suitably pivotedto the cage,so that as the said cam rotates between the arms of the ear 6 the ring ewill be tipped in one or .the other direction from horizontal position,and thus make its lower edge lowest at one or the other side of the cageaccording to whether the splicing thread, to be described, is to be putinto the front side of the stocking or web, or the back side thereof, orthe said ring may be kept in true horizontal position, as when thesplicing thread is to be kept entirely out of the fabric.

The head-plate A has. erected upon it a stand d to which is attached along tubular thread guide 61*, see Fig. 3, and near the thread guide thesaid stand has attached to it a latch opener 61 The shape of the openingin the thread guideis preferably somewhat oblong, so that at theentrance into said guide, the knitting thread coming from a suitablebobbin 7c may bekept from rubbing against the splicingthread scomingfrom a suitable bobbin s'. The guide tube is longenough to enable aninch or two of the splicing thread to remain in it after the splicingthread has been broken off by the strain of the needles androtatingcylinder on it, said thread beiugso broken off whenever the thread clampor nipper, to be I described, acts to restrain the free delivery of thesplicing thread. i

As practiced in earlier machines, the splicing thread is drawn throughthe tubular thread guide by the friction against it of the main. thread,but during circular knitting, when the splicing thread isnot beingknitted into the fabric, the rubbing of the main thread on the splicingthread is apt to wear. away or whip it out, so that the splicing threadescapes from the entering .end of the thread guide and is not inposition in. the tube to be caught up by the main thread.

The head-plate has erected upon it a second stand f, on which is mountedthe lever f having the movable member 4 of the splicing thread clamp, asurface at the upper end or top of the stand 01 or other stationary partimmediately above the enteriugend of the thread guide serviugasthesecond member of said clamp.

The lever f has a main-thread placer j attached to or depending from it,said placer having an eye 6 for the main thread,the said eye being solocated with relation to the opening in the tubular thread guide thatwhen the clamp is closed on the splicing thread, themain thread will beput into the lower part of said opening, as in Fig. 2, and so that itwill not be drawn hard against the splicing thread, but when the leverf'is lifted to unclamp the splicing thread, that it maybe fed to theneedles, the said placer f lifts the main thread and puts it in contactwith the splicing thread so that the main thread will instantl y takethe splicing thread with it to the needle. See Fig. 3.

The splicing thread is led from its bobbin over a finger s thencethrough an eye 7 in a wire or'device 3 attached to the stationary dialcam. plate by a screw 8 said wire or device having a second eye 8located at a lower level and somewhatbehind it in the direction ofrotation of theneedle cylinder, said thread supporting and guidingeyes 7and 8 having arranged between them a pull-off shown as a lever f pivotedat 9 on the stand fjust belo the pivot for the lever f See Fig. 1. Y

The lever f has attached to it a suitable springf which acts normally todepress the inner end of said lever and'put the clamp 4 on the splicingthread lying on the rest or support over which it is to travel or bedrawn on its way into the thread guide 01 The rear end of the lever fhas a projection 12 shown as a screw which is extended through a slot 13in a link g adapted to slide in a suitable guide, as g', the lower endof the link being jointed to a lever g having its pivot It on a stand 15secured to the frame-work A, the inner end of said lever having asuitable roller or other stud which is held against the under side ofthe ring cam or splicing thread cam e by the stronger spring f. r' I Therear end of the pull-off device f is shown as jointed by link 17 to thelink 9, so that when the clamp 4: comes down on the splicingthread, theinner end of the pull-off descends far enough below the supporting eyes7, 8, to act on and pull from the bobbin 3' enough of'the splicingthread, so that the main thread, when the clamp 4 is lifted, to act onthe splicing thread to carry said splicing thread with it, need not pullthe splicing thread from the said bobbin, but will rather make theneedles pull the splicing thread from the bobbin 3.

The pull-oft having acted to pull off splicing thread rises and the eyethereof is put substantially in line with the eyes 7 and 8 as or beforethe clamp begins to rise, thus avoiding all unnecessary friction on thesplicing thread. j

This invention is not limited to the exact devices shown for moving thepull-0E.

The link g has secured to it above and below the slot 13, adjustingdevices 20,2l,shown as slotted blocks secured in place bysuitablescrews, the adjustment of said blocks to shorten or lengthen the slot 13aflording opportunity to regulate the number of needles less thanone-half thereof which are to receive the splicing thread and theparticular needle to which the splicing thread shall be first supplied.

The spring f keeps the projection 12 connected with the lever f normallyagainst the. block 20, and the block 20 may be so adjusted as to act on'the splicing thread sooner or later as the bar g is drawn down, and thesaid block by its position may determine the force with which the clampmay rest upon the splicing thread when the bar 9 is raised. The block 21acts positively to put the clamping device onto the splicing thread incase for anyreason the springf should not work.

By adjusting the blocks 20 and 21 onthe bar g one with relation to theother, the length of the slot 13 in which the projection 12 stands maybe made greater or less, and

'the exact location of the said blocks so as to constitute the effectiveupper and lower ends of the slot may be determined, so that the leverfmay be moved at just the propertime to insure the quick clamping orunclamping of the splicing .thread without lost motion, and thus enablethe thread to be introduced at thedesired needleand to be broken off atthe desired needle.

thread is not being delivered and the cam' ring e is in its horizontalornormal position, and the hook it is down away from the star wheel e.

In the operation of the machine, so long as the cam ring e is kept initshorizontal position, so as not to vibrate the lever gr just so long theclamp 4 will continue to hold the splicing thread and it will not enterinto the fabric but whenever the hook it is elevated, as it may be, thatdepending altogether upon the arrangement of the pins 0 in the patternwheel, and the lumps c then the saidhook engages the star wheel andturns it to tip the ring a so that it will act as a cam. As soon as thiscam ring is sotipped the stronger spring f acting on the lever'g liftsitsinner end to follow the cam ring, and in sodoing'the clamp 4' rises,frees the splicing thread, and lets the main thread take it with it tothe needles, and if said ring is kept in, this position the splicingthread will be put into the knitted fabric for a portion of eachcircular course of the tube or web being knitted, the side of the tubeinto which saida inthe opposite direction, then the thickening threadwill be put in at the opposite side IIO of the fabric and thus it willbe seen that the said thickening thread may be made to appear at eitherside of the fabric, as desired, at different portions of its length butfor only onehalf about, or less than one-half about the fabric.

Herein we use the term side of the fabric to represent, for instance,the front and foot part of the leg of the stocking which is to bethickened at the knee, and the other side as the rear side of the tubewhich it may be desired to thicken at the calf or at the ankle part.

Having described our invention, what we claim as new, and desire tosecure by Letters Patent, is

1. In a knitting machine the following instrumentalities:-viz, a needlecylinder, a dial plate, a thread guide adapted to receive both the mainor knitting thread and a splicing thread, auclamp for the splicingthread, a splicingthread controlling cam, device's to tip the said camin' one or the other direction, anddevicesintermediate said cam andthesaid clamp to operate the same, whereby the thread clamp' may be made toclamp the splicing thread substantially as described, with relation tothe operation of the needle actuating cams to put the splicing threadinto one orthe other half or side of the web or tube being knitted,substantially as described.

2. In a knitting machine, a needle cylinder, a dial plate, a splicingthread clamp, and a main thread lifter, combined with a thread guideadapted to conduct to the needles of the machines both the main threadand the splicing thread,the opening in'the said thread guide being ofsuch size with relation to the diameter of the main and splicing threadsto enable the main thread to run freely without injuriously frayingthesplicing thread, the

upward movement of the lifter, when the clamp is being opened to releasethesplicing threadyputting the main thread in contact with the splicingthread to carry it with it to the needles, substantially as described.

3. In a knitting machine, a thread guide adapted to receive both themain and splicing threads, a splicing thread clamp,"a rest for thesplicing thread on its way into i the said thread guide, a lever towhich the said clamp is secured, a splicing thread actuating cam,

devices intermediate said cam and said lever, u

and adjusting devices carried by said intermediate devices to aifordmore or lesslost motion between thesaid actuating devices and the levercarrying the said clamp, to thus adapt the machine for the reception ofthe splicing thread upon a greateror less number of needles to thusregulate the width of the reinforce made by the splicingthread,substantially as described.

4:. In a knitting machine, the combination withthe'rotating cage, of apivoted splicing thread actuating cam, a pawlfa shaft having,

an eccentric and a star wheel, a pattern cylin der, andintermediatedevices to control the position of said pawl to move the said shaft andits eccentricand tip the said cam at the desired times duringitsrotation, substan tially as described.

In testimony whereof we have signed our

